Egg-carrier.



CAREER.

HHS. RENEWD FEB.

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EGG CARRIER.

APPL1CAT10N FILED Aus.9,1913. RENEWED FEB.1.1917.

Patented May 8, 1917.

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FERDINAND KRONENBERGEB, 0F BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNR T0 FREDERIC B.

CLARK, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY.

EGG-CARRIER.

Fatented May 8, 1191"?.

Application led August 9, 1913, Serial No. 783,863. Renewed February 1, 1917. Serial No. 146,001.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that l, FERDINAND KRONEN- BERGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Brooklyn, county of Kings, and State of New York, have invented' a certain new and useful Egg-Carrier, of which the following is a specification.

rlhis invention is a carrier for perishable articles, such as eggs, fruits, vegetables and other products which are required to be packed and shipped from the producer' to the consumer in a manner to avoid injury and breakage.

ln other applications filed by me on even date herewith there are disclosed certain constructions wherein slitted article supporting sheets are combined with cell cases, the latter being lmade separate from the sheets and assembled into contact with said sheets in the intervals between the slitted portions thereof.

In making my new article carrier according to a preferred form, sheets of paper of the required thickness and character are em ployed, or any other equivalent material may be used, the same being slitted at intervals to result ultimately in rows of pockets, and

in the spaces between these rows each sheet is creased so that it may be 'doubled and folded to produce webs that act as stays to the slitted portions, thus combining in one structure a carrier which embodies a slitted sheet and the equivalent of the cell case.

lt is not essential, however, that the carrier be produced from sheets of paper, or like material, for the reason that the carrier with the pockets and the webs in one integral structure may be molded or pressed from pulp, or other suitable material.V

The carrier of the present invention is adapted for use in packing cases for the shipment'of the articles, but by reason of the security a'orded to the articles by the new form of carrier, it is especially adapted for use in comparatively small cartons or packages so that eggs and other farm products may be shippedv to good advantage by parcel post from a farmer, or other producer, to the ultimate consumer, without the intervention of a retail dealer,

ln the drawings,

Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section through an egg carrier embodying this invention incased within a package of small dimensions suitable for transporting eggs by parcel post.

Fig. 2 1s a 'section at right angles to Fig. l through a part ofthe package illustrated therein.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of one member illustrating the slitted and stay portions thereof.

Figs. 4. and 5 illustrate another embodiment of the invention wherein the article supporting member is molded from pulp or other material.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of the one piece foldable box illustrated in Figs. l and 9. of the drawings.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a slitted sheet illustrating the lines of fold thereof.

ln the embodiment shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 7 of the drawings there is illustrated an article carrying member produced from a sheet A of paper or other material suitable for the purpose. rThis sheet is slit at b to provide means adapted to form pockets which are disposed in rows, as indicated at B in Fig. 7. ln addition to the slits, the sheet is provided with score or crease lines c c and c2, the crease lines c2 being near the opposite edges of the sheet, whereas the crease lines c c are between the rows of slits adapted to produce adjacent rows of pockets B. Each slit portion b consists of a group of cuts radiating from a common center, there being twelve of these slit portions b to produce three rows of pockets consisting of four slitted portions in each row, although it will be understood that the sheet may be of any desired size to produce any desired number of slitted portions. ln addition to the slits b and crease lines as described, the sheet-is formed with slots l which cross the crease lines c.

The sheet A. shown in Fig. 7 is adapted to be folded so as to produce the article carrier illustrated in Figs. l to 3, inclusive. Said sheet is economically produced by feeding the same into a die or press, which at one operation produces the slits, the score or crease lines, and the slots. lt is evident that the sheets may be laid Hat upon each other so that they are stacked or piled, and in this condition they may be shipped or transported advantageously.

When it is desired to use one of the carriers, the sheet A is folded or doubled along the lines c o c2, thus 'producing stays C from the folded portions c c', and other stays C along the cross portions c2. rlhe stays C are between the rows of slitted p0rtions Z2, and these stays and the stays C are integral with the sheet and occupy a plane substantially at right angles to the plane of the sheet, all as clearly show'n in Fig. 2.- When the carrier is employed for supporting eggs or other objects, they are placed within a carton E, substantially as shown in Figs. land 2, or said carriers may be assembled within a packing case in the ordinary way of assembling cell cases for the shipment of eggs. Cne of the carriers is placed upon the bottom e of the carton, and eggs or other objects arethen deposited upon the slitted portions b of the carrier. When the desired number of objects shall have been deposited upon the lower carrier, a second carrier is positioned upon the objects and within the carton, substantially as shown in Figs. 1' and 2, after which the cover e of the carton is closed. The cover is forcibly pressed into position so that the upper carrier will be pressed down upon the objects, and as a result of this application of pressure to the cover and to the upper carrier the slitted portions b of the sheets A will become pressed out of the plane of the sheets, said slitted por tions yielding to the resistance offered by the eggs or other objects. It will thus be seen that eggs of dierent sizes may be packed between and retained in position by the yieldable fingers formed by the slitted portions of the two carriers, and thus the eggs are held under pressure and yieldingly in position by the fingers of the carriers. The application of pressure prevents any displacement of the eggs or other objects, and by retaining the eggs between the yieldable fingers of the two members it is evident that the eggs can be shipped without breaking them or bruising other objects packed between the opposing members.

It will be noted that the stays C C of the bottom member are in contact with the bottom e of the carton, whereas the stays C C of the top member are in contact with the topA of the carton. Accordingly, the members are assembled in reverse order, or it may be said that the upper member is inverted with respect to the lower member. The two members are thus assembled to confine the objects between them for the reason that the sheets of the members are in opposing or facing relation with the pockets B in register so that the objects will act to displace the slitted portions of the pockets, thus resulting in the formation of yielding members which securely retain the obj ects under pressure between the members.

The employment of slots al in the folded space C enables cross stays F to be introduced into the slots, said cross stays extending transversely to the stays C, and being positioned between the rows of pockets at right angles to the stays C. Each cross stay is shown in Fig. 1 as consisting of a piece of folded material, the doubled edge of which is in contact` with the top or bottom of the carton, whereas the two edges ofthe folded material are in contact with the imperforate portion of sheet A between the rows of slits. The cross stays F are in eect interlocked with the slotted part d of the stays C and the two series of stays C F are positioned for the stays of one series to be at right angles to the stays of the other series whereby the two series of stays engage with the imperforate portions of` the sheet in the intervals between the slits so that the stays will serve the pur- 'poses of a cell case in reinforcing the carrier consisting of the slitted sheet withv one row of stays integral therewith.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawings there is illustrated another embodiment of the invention wherein the carrier C is molded in dies or molds from pulp or other fibrous material. The sheet A is provided with pockets B arranged in rows and with stays C2 C3. The stays C2 extend lengthwise of the sheet at the respective side edges and between the rows of pockets, whereas other stays C3 extend transversely of the sheet. The sheet is molded or otherwise formed so as to produce a pocket B which is 'permanently 'depressed or elevated with respect to the plane of the sheet. As shown, each pocket is provided with an opening b2, and obviously the pocket may be slitted similar to the slits b in the construction of Figs. l, 2, 3 and 7, although this slitted construction is not desirable with the molded carrier. The carriers are assembled in reverse order so as to bring the pockets in facing relation and in register substantially" as shown in Fig. 4, and when pressure is applied to the carriers the articles occupying the pockets will displace the material slightly so that the walls of the pockets will hug or frictionally contact with the end portions of the objects, whereby the objects are held or retained under pressure between the opposing carriers. According to this invention the eggs or Vother articles are retained under pressure within and between the carriers and at the same time the carriers are reinforced or stayed by the carton or inclosing means of the package so that the carriers will not bend or buckle with respect to the articles so as to relax the pressure'and allow the articles to work loose or change position.` When eggs are packed between the carriers, pressure is exerted on such eggs in a direction which experience shows will not tend to break their shells, z'. e. in the direction of the major axes or lengthv ofthe egg. Obviously,

in a package for transporting a dozen eggs by parcel post, it is necessary that the pressure shall be applied uniformly to all the eggs, and, furthermore, the sheet carriers must be stayed against bending to apply the pressure uniformly. rlhis is secured in my package by the use of carriers separate or disconnected from the inclosing carton, by providing the carriers with crossing stays which are positioned adjacent to the articlereceiving parts of the carrier, and by arranging the carriers in opposing relation so as t0 bring the pockets of the lower carrier into register-'or alinement with the pockets of the upper carrier, an important feature bemg such a relation of the carriers to the inclosing carton that the stays of the lower carrier will be in contact with the bottom of the carton whereas the stays of the upper carrier are in contact with the top of the carton. Obviously, the carton is closed se curely or tightly for the top and bottom thereof to press against the stays and the carriers are thus adapted to exert pressure upon the eggs positioned between the carriers, as a result of which the eggs are gripped or clamped firmly between the carriers and within the walls of the pockets thereof so that they cannot work loose, the pressure being applied in the direction of the length of the eggs and against the respective end portions thereof.

rlhe carriers of my invention may be used in ordinary packing cases by assembling them in facing order so that the rows of 0bjects will be held under pressure between adjacent carriers, but this construction is especially adapted for transporting a small quantity of articles, such as eggs, from the producer to the consumer through the medium of the parcel post, for which purpose it is desirable to employ two or more carriers within a carton E. Any suitable form of carton may be used, but in Fig. 6 there is shown a foldablecarton or box composed of a single piece of paper or other appropriate material.

The blank G is shown as having side folds g, end fold g', flaps h h', and top folds i provided with flaps j. The end folds g are provided with liaps which are slitted at lc so as to produce ,tongues l. rlhe end flaps h 71, are provided with slots m, and the flaps 72. at diagonally opposite corners are provided with notches o. When the box blank of Fig. 6 is folded, the side folds g g are turned upwardly so as to be parallel with each other, and the end folds g will similarly be folded into parallel relation. The end iaps it 71. are then turned inwardly with respect to the end folds g and the daps k are bent over the end flaps so that the tongues Z will enter the slots m in said end flaps t 7L', thus locking all parts of the box securely when folded. The carriers andobjects may now be packed within the carton, as heretofore described, and the top folds z' folded over the carriers, the flaps j being tucked into place. This form of boX blank provides a one piece boX adapted for the shipment of a small quantity of articles which are securely retained in position between the carriers.

Having thus fully described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. .An article carrying package comprising a top member, a bottom member, and

-incasing means separate from bothk said members, each Vmember embodying-a web provided with rows of pocket forming portions and with a plurality of stays positioned at imperforate parts of the web and intermediate the pocket forming portions, certain of said stays extending in one direction and other stays extending in a direction transverse to the first stays and cross# ing or intersecting therewith, said members being positioned in opposing relation to each other and with the pocket forming portions of one member in register with the similar portions of the other member, the stays of the upper member being in contact with a wall of said incasing means, and the crossing stays of the other member being in contact with another wall of said incasing means, whereby the pressure of said incasing means is communicated by the stays to the webs of the respective members for exerting pressure upon the articles contained between said webs without bending or deflecting the webs at points` intermediate the pockets therein.

2. An article carrying package comprising a top member, a bottom member, and an incasing carton separate from both said members, said top member and bottom member being positioned in opposing relation for receiving articles between them, each member embodying a web of material provided with stays and with pockets offset from the plane of the web and positioned intermediate said stays, the stays and odset pockets of each member projecting from the same surface of the web composing said member, and said members being assembled for the corresponding pockets of said two members to register with each other, the stays of the upper member extending into contact with the top of the carton, whereas the stays of the lower member depend from the web thereof into contact with the bottom of the carton, whereby the pressure of the carton is transmitted through the stays to the webs so as to be applied to the articles retained within the pockets of said members.

3. An article carrying package comprising an upper member, a lower member, and an incasing carton separate from both said members, each member embodying a web provided with crossing stays and with slitted portions intermediate said stays, said slitted portions being yieldable so as to form a group of tongues which lie on the same surface of the web as the stays, said groups of tongues having a series of article receiving pockets, said members being assembledl in facing relation so that the pockets of one member are in register with corresponding pockets of the other member, the yieldable tongues and stays of the upper member extending above the plane of the web of said member whereas the tongues and stays of the lower member depend from the under surface of the web of said member, said stays of the upper and lower members being in Contact with the top and bottom respectively of the carton, whereby pressure is applied by the stays to the webs and the tongues to exert pressure upon the articles positioned between said members.

4. ln an article carrier, a member composed of a web provided withrows of slitted portions, said web being creased on a plurality of parallel lines intermediate said slitted portionsk and provided with slots intersecting with said creases, said web being foldable on the crease lines and thereby forming stays integral with said web, said stays extending in one direction with re spect to the web, and separate stays interlocked with the slotted parts of the integral stays, said separate stays and integral stays extendingcrosswise and lengthwise respectivelyl of the web and being positioned between the slitted parts of said web.

5. ln an varticle carrier, a top member comprising a web provided with pocketforming portions and with stays projecting from the web on lines intermediate said pocket-forming portions, and a separate bottom member comprising a web provided with pocket-forming portions and with stays projecting from said web on lines intermediate said pocket-forming portions, combined with incasing means separate from both members, said top member and bottom member being positioned within the incasing means for the stays on the top member and on the bottom member to contact with the top and bottom respectivelyof said incasing means, whereby said incasing means is adapted to exert pressure vagainst the stays so that the webs of the top and bottom members operate to exert pressure upon articles retained between the webs and within the pocket-forming portions thereof.

6. 1n an article carrier, a top member comprising a web provided with pockets and with stays extendmg in two directions and intermediate the pockets, a bottom member comprising a web provided with pockets and with vstays extending in two directions and intermediate the pockets, said stays of the upper member extending upwardly from the web thereof and the stays of the bottom member depending from the web thereof, and incasing means the top and bottom of which are in contact with the stays of the top member and the stays of the bottom member, respectively. l

In testimony whereof ll have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing witnesses.

FERDNAND KRONENBERGER.

Witnesses:

M. C. RoDmQU-ez, H. l. BERNHARD. 

